As If We Never Said Goodbye
by Lily-On-Water
Summary: Her ashes float around his feet and with difficulty he chokes back a sob, not wanting the other campers to see him like this.  She had died, she had died and it had been his fault, he could have warned her, but he didn't and now all that's left of her is ash.  But he won't leave it like that, even if it means traveling to the depths of the Underworld to find her.  I don't own PJ.
1. Chapter 1

Percy sits and stares mournfully at the pile of ashes that was once the beautiful girl that he loved. He wants to believe that it's not her, but he can't. He was there, he watched, held her in his arms as she cried; kissed her once, gently. Sobbed over her dead body.

She just can't be gone, Annabeth can't be gone. But at the same time she can't be here. He had watched that soldier come up behind her; he had seen it and he hadn't said anything. It is his fault that she's gone.

If she hadn't been trying to help him, if she had just focused on saving herself, she surely would have heard those footsteps sneaking up behind her. Annabeth wouldn't have missed that, she was too good at battle strategy for that. No, this was his fault.

"Percy?" People have been doing this all day, coming up to him, laying a hand on his shoulder, acting all concerned, it was going to drive him crazy. They are the most random of people, half of them campers that he had never met, campers whom Annabeth had never met. He appreciates their concern, but really, can't they see that he needs to be alone? It has gotten to the point now where he doesn't even respond to them, can't make himself respond to them. He doesn't have the energy; besides, he doesn't want to talk to anybody, he just wants to be alone with her. Just for a little bit.

"Percy?" That voice again, he knows he should recognize that voice, he's heard it a million times. It's a girl's voice, feminine, and very confident, the voice of someone who knows exactly who they are, and are exactly who they want to be. Annabeth had had that voice. Gods! He should know this! The voice is familiar to him, but, then again, so are the voices of most of the campers. So, that didn't necessarily mean anything.

"Percy, its Thalia, it's okay if you don't want to talk." Thalia! That's right! No wonder the voice was so familiar! For a brief moment he feels a beam of happiness, strong as the sun come down on him. Just as quickly it is gone.

"No. It's…it's okay. I'll talk." His words sound stiff, even to himself, like a robot. Oh, well, it doesn't matter if his words are stiff, a lot of his words would probably be stiff from now on. Without Annabeth what's the point of trying to sound happy?

Thalia takes a breath, sits down next to him, "You can't just stay here all day, you know? I know it's hard, but eventually Chiron's going to have to move the ashes. You're lucky he's leaving them here this long."

He knows this; he just doesn't want to think about it. He especially doesn't want to have to talk about it. Three hours ago they'd been laughing; three hours ago they hadn't even known there would be a battle. If they'd known they could have prepared, could have taken steps to protect themselves, could have trained more. No, he doesn't want to talk about moving the ashes, not now, not when she'd been alive three hours ago. It's too soon, it's way too soon.

"I didn't know you were back, Thalia." Of course, Zeus himself could have been here and Percy wouldn't have known it. He had too much on his mind for that, way too much. In truth, he is only partly here now, he knows Thalia is talking, but he can't seem to hear her. All he can see or hear is _her. _Her eyes, the way they lit up when she laughed; that cute little smirk that she got whenever she knew she was right, so, basically all the time.

"Seaweed-Brain?"

He jolts out of his train of thought. "What? What did you just say?"

Thalia is looking at him in a concerned way, but somehow he can't bring himself to care, he just wants to know what she said. Wants to know why he heard it if she didn't. "I said, I heard about the news. I've been back since the ceremony." A pause, "What did you think I said, Percy?"

He shakes his head, "Nothing. I don't know what I thought you said. Sorry, my mind is everywhere today."

"Well, under the circumstances I suppose that is beyond acceptable. But, Percy, don't you think that Annabeth would want you to be happy? Not just sitting here looking at empty space? You can't think that she would want that? Can you?" Her voice is kind, but he can tell what she means, she's working with Chiron, trying to get him to move. Trying to get him to move so they can get rid of her.

"It's not empty space!" Whatever has been stowed away inside of him breaks free, and suddenly he is yelling. "It's not empty space! It's her! It's all I have left of her!" Quieting down now, "Why can't you understand that? Why can't anybody understand that?" A sob that he doesn't know he's been holding is released, an awkward silence.

"Percy," She pulls him in for an awkward hug, "I understand, believe me I understand. I loved her too. She was like a sister to me. Which is how I know that she would want you to be happy. She'd want you to get up, and go do something, don't just sit here and stare at her ashes. That's the last thing that she would want you to do."

"You have no idea what she would want! You have no idea! You left her!" He pushes her away, not so much mad as full of energy. "You left her! You joined the Hunters and you never came back! She hardly ever saw you after you joined them! Some sister you turned out to be! Leave her alone when she needs you, come back for her funeral! Yeah, some sister you are!" More sobs, "Some sister you are!"

"Fine, I'll leave you alone. I'll leave you alone for as long as you want. But, just to remind you, I'd known Annabeth a lot longer than you have. I'd known her a lot longer, and you will do well to remember that. I get that you are grieving. I do. But you need to check yourself, you're just going to end up hurting yourself if you keep treating people how you just treated me." She turns to walk away. "I'll be around camp, find me when you're ready to apologize."


	2. Chapter 2

Thalia is unsure of where to go from here. She can only do so much for Percy; can only do so much for herself, really. She knows that she is acting kind of tough, knows that maybe she could be gentler, but really she can't. She's trying to act like Percy's words aren't hurting her, really she is; after all, he's just had a huge shock, it's understandable for him to be upset, and not himself. What he keeps forgetting, however, is that she had known Annabeth so much longer than he had. Had been so close to her for so long, when she said that Annabeth was like her sister, she meant it.

She is well aware that she wasn't able to see Annabeth as much as she wanted to. She doesn't need him telling her that. She didn't choose for it to be that way, she didn't have choices like he did about where she went and when. That was left up to the rest of the Hunters. She had been lucky to be able to come for the ceremony; surely he would realize that once he had some more time. He would have to.

Meanwhile there is Ares, whom she really just doesn't know how to handle. He has to know that she's a Hunter, he just has to. So why can't he leave her alone? They aren't going anywhere, nowhere, ever.

Anyway, now is not the time to be thinking about that, now is the time to worry about Percy. Where is Grover when you need him? Probably chewing on Styrofoam somewhere, go figure.

"Percy? Do you think that you're ready to go, maybe get some sleep?" She puts a hand on his arm, tries to keep her voice as soothing as possible.

He doesn't say anything, just gets up, follows her to the Poseidon cabin, and collapses on his bed. She leaves him to it.


	3. Chapter 3

Her voice, he can't get her voice out of his head. It's as though it's stalking him, and when it's not her voice it's her. Everywhere he turns her sees her. Or, at least that's what had happened the one time he got out of bed to go to the bathroom. It is like Hades is mocking him, taunting him with images of the most beautiful girl in the world, but when he reaches for her she is dust.

He knows he should sleep, knows that Thalia left him here so that he could sleep it off. Like she was a hangover, as if. No, sleep would only make this worse. If he slept he would dream of her, would dream of her dying, of her face, of holding her in his arms as the light left her eyes. Or worse, he might dream about her smile, her laugh, that beautiful twinkle in her eyes when she teased him. He is choking up, even Nectar and Ambrosia can't fix a broken heart. Nothing can.

Her picture is next to his bed, she is young in it. Probably twelve, and wearing her signature baseball hat and Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, her smile is easy and her eyes are happy but shaded. He has spent what feels like decades staring at that picture, and the grief rolling off of it could rival even the strongest wave. The tears have long since stopped, he's pretty sure that he's run out of them. No, he has long since upgraded to dry-sobbing, kind of like dry-heaving, which he is more-or-less sure will happen soon.

He is going to get through this, however, because he has a plan. He's not exactly up-to-date on his history, but he does remember one story. One very true story that he is going to recreate, except this time he will win.

The story is something about a man who makes a deal with Hades, all he has to do to bring his beloved wife back from the grave, is walk. Walk out the gates of the Underworld; never once looking back to see whether or not she is following him. In this case the man lost his chance, he looked back, his wife was there, but she was lost to him forever.

Percy will recreate this story, except this time, he will leave with Annabeth, he will not succumb to desire, he will bring her back. He will make it right. He'll make sure of it.


	4. Chapter 4

She is practicing archery when he finds her. It's one of the Hunter's conditions, she can't let her archery slip if she wants to stay here, even if it's only for a day or two.

"Thalia! Thalia!" He is racing up to her, and all of his earlier depression seems to have vanished. She sighs, draws back the bow and releases her arrow, right on the mark.

"What's up, Percy?" She isn't sure that she wants to know, just hours ago the boy was an emotional wreck, and now he's hopping around like he's a Hermes kid. She's starting to think he might need more help than she can give him. Maybe even more help than Chiron can give him.

"I'm going to get her back." He sounds so happy; none of his earlier grief is playing into his words. Thalia is scared of him or, more accurately scared for him.

"Perce," She sighs, runs a hand through her hair, "You can't bring her back, Percy. Nobody can bring her back." She takes a breath, she doesn't want to hurt him, but she isn't going to let him drive himself crazy with fantasies. Tears are prickling at the corners of her eyes. "She's dead, Percy, she's dead and she's never coming back."

Curiously enough, the light never leaves his eyes, if anything they just get brighter, "See! See! That's the key! That's the key!"

"What are you talking about, Percy?" She has back away from him now, and tears are running freely down her cheeks. Why does he have to make this so difficult?

He comes forward; he is gripping her arms now, "Don't cry." His voice is lowering, but the excitement is definitely not dying, "The key is that she's dead. You and I both know who controls the dead. Think, Thalia! Think! I know it sounds crazy, but I can bring her back, we can bring her back!"

Her tears have dried, and she is beginning to see into his façade, and, if she is being honest, hope is starting to build. "How? How are we going to bring her back? Assuming we can even get a quest granted."

"You believe me?" His voice is so full of wonder that she is forced to smile.

"Yes, I do believe that you think you can bring her back."

"Nice way to dance around the question." He nods in approval, "Anyway, there's a story, I don't remember all the specifics, but a man's wife died and he made a deal with Hades to get her back. He couldn't look behind him to see if she was following him, that's all he had to do." Once again his voice is full of wonder, "Just not look back, and he could bring her back to life."

He pauses and looks at her briefly as if to check whether or not she is still following him. When she nods he continues, "I could do it. I could keep from looking back, I know I can."

Surprisingly, this is all making sense, and she finds herself actually agreeing with him. "It might work. But, we do have to do two things first."

"Get permission for a quest…what's the other one?"

"I've got to get permission from Artemis." She gives a small, humorless laugh, "I'm actually asking for permission to go to Hades, imagine that."

Percy smiles, it's a genuine one, "I've been there once or twice, it's not so bad."


	5. Chapter 5

Percy is refusing to let himself feel out of place, he has never felt out of place in Chiron's office before, never. He refuses to allow himself to feel that way now. So what if Chiron is staring at him as though he's crazy? Plenty of people had looked at him as though he were crazy throughout life; it has never bothered him before. Of course, before he wasn't asking for a quest, and he certainly wasn't asking for one to do the impossible. Even if it really isn't impossible, as he keeps trying to point out. You would think that with all these powerful Greek figures one of them just might remember Orpheus's story. (Thalia had filled him in on some of the specifics.) Anyway, no, none of them seemed to remember dear old Orpheus and his beloved wife whose name is very hard to remember. You would think that an event like bringing somebody back from the Underworld just might spark a flame somewhere in history, but no, apparently not, because he is explaining all of this to Chiron and all he is getting is a blank stare. From the man who is half horse, and he's the one getting blank stares. Yeah, life is fair.

"Percy," The older man sighs, and he can tell that it is an effort for him to not send him on his way to the funny farm. However, Chiron has had plenty of years to perfect his everything-will-be-okay poker face and voice, and when he continues each is right on the money.

"Percy," He tries again, not unkindly, "I know that the camp is already grieving very deeply from the loss of such a magnificent girl as Annabeth. She truly was one of a kind, and I can only imagine how hard it must be on you, especially given the closeness of your relationship." He sighs, and it is one of those sighs that can only lead to words such as however. "However," See, right on target, "It's just not possible to bring her back. I know that's difficult to understand, but it's just not possible."

"But what about the story? It was possible in the story, why couldn't it be possible now?" He doesn't allow himself to falter, there's no way he can convince Chiron unless his act is equally as flawless.

"Do you realize how long ago that happened? You can't, you just can't, or else you wouldn't be asking this of me." Never once does Chiron break eye contact, never once does his speech so much as falter. Too bad he's half-horse, because if not he'd have a great career in acting. You know, if the camp thing didn't work out and all.

"I don't understand how time has anything to do with it. Hades is still the ruler of the Underworld, if he let a soul go once then who's to say that he wouldn't do it again?" He is struggling now to keep the defiance out of his voice, he must show respect, for Annabeth.

"It's because of mentality like that that this plan of yours will not work." He says it as though it actually makes sense. Of course, Chiron says everything that way.

"What does my mentality have to do with anything? It's Hades mentality that should matter."

Another sigh, "Percy, just think for a moment. You are not the only person to ever lose someone whom you care about. Millions of people have gone through the exact same thing. Don't you think that somewhere along the line, someone might have come to the same conclusion that you've come to just now?"

"I'm sure they have." He stops, takes a moment to gather his thoughts, all of this is improvised, because he has never considered any of this. Not that that necessarily matters, one way or another he must save Annabeth.

"And have you ever heard of this working, that is, aside from Orpheus?"

"No," He stops, gathers more of his thoughts, "Of course, I'd only heard of Orpheus's story in history class. Also, I'd say that I do have kind of an upper-hand over just a random citizen. Other than being a demigod, I'm also on better terms with most of the Gods."

A long silence, before finally Chiron nods, a long, solemn nod. "Very well then."


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't believe she said yes!" Percy is so happy, he's practically jumping up and down, and all Thalia can do is give a slight grin. She hasn't told him about the price of going on this quest, what she had to give up in order to do it. She feels her grin begin to wobble, don't think about it, she commands herself.

"Yeah, to tell you the truth I was pretty surprised, too." You could say that again. She was more than surprised; her entire world was turned upside down.

"Well, I'm just glad that she did!" He hugs her, and she reluctantly returns it, "If she gave you the A-OK and Chiron gave me the same…Well, someone must believe that we can bring her back."

"Yeah, that's one way to look at it." She sighs, "So what's our next step?"

He looks slightly less sure now, "Well, we find out where the Underworld's entrance is." He looks up, "I'm not sure how I'm going to do that."

She looks up, she can help with this, she can definitely help with this, "I can cover that."

He looks at her as though she is crazy, the boy who wants to bring the dead back to life is looking at her as though she's the crazy one. "You've got to be kidding me." He laughs, a clear, happy laugh, "How?"

She feels herself begin to squirm, "Ares." She doesn't look at him, looks anywhere, looks anywhere but at him. "He'll help us."

His expression tells her everything, his eyebrows are raised and his eyes wide, "What am I missing here?"

She sighs, takes a moment to think, "I don't know." A pause, "Percy, I don't know, all I know is that he will help us. Or, at least, he'll help me."

"Why?" He is doubtful; she knows that Ares has never been his biggest supporter, or, his supporter period. "Why would he help us? The guy hates me."

"Percy, I already told you, I don't know. He might be obsessed with me or something, I don't know. What I do know is that he will help me."

He sighs, "I want to believe it, I really do, it's just hard for me to." He pauses, shakes his head, "How do you know he'll help you?"

"I told you, he's obsessed with me. He won't leave me alone, ever. It's almost stalker-like, I don't know why, but he will help me." She shakes her head and gives a nervous sort of laugh, he'll be pleased. "Besides, he's bound to know where the Underworld is, if not I'm sure he'll find out." She shakes her head, once more as though to clear it, "So when do we start?"


	7. Chapter 7

Percy still can't wrap his head around it, Ares, it's just not possible. How…no…why would Ares help them? Why would he help Thalia?

He's obsessed with her, that's what Thalia had said, but why? Why would he be obsessed with Thalia? Sure, she's a great person, and she's probably the toughest girl that he knows, but still…Why would any of that matter to Ares?

Oh, well, it doesn't really matter why, as long as he helps them Percy doesn't really care. They have been traveling for a day and they've had yet to see him, so maybe Thalia was wrong. Who knows?

"So…Do you have any idea where we should be going?" He knows that she doesn't, but he can't help but hope that she has heard or knows something he doesn't.

She gives an irritated sort of sigh, which, he guesses is kind of understandable, he's sure that if she had asked that question to him twenty times then he would have done the same thing. Still, though, she should understand that he has to know this type of stuff, has to continue to hope, not for himself but for Annabeth.

"Percy, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told you an hour ago." She pauses and gives him a look that could almost be considered a death stare, "If you don't know, I don't know. I'm sorry, but you know that Ares could only come in person, it's not like he's going to give my cell a ring. If he helps he'll come in person, you'll see him say as I will."

"I know," I shake my head, somewhat ashamed with myself for putting all this stress on her, she didn't have to come, she didn't have to agree to help me, she chose to. I should be grateful for that, not a jerk, what would Annabeth say? "I'm sorry, Thalia. It's just, I love her."

When the words come out I'm just as shocked as she is. Her eyebrows are raised and a smirk is on her face, "Glad that you finally admitted it."

I nod, surprised at how true it is, how good it feels to have finally told someone that, even if it wasn't her. It's a sobering thought, that I have told Thalia that I love Annabeth, but never Annabeth. I will rescue her, if for nothing else than to tell her to her face that I love her, I will rescue her. When I speak next it is probably some of the most honest words I have ever said in my life. "So am I."


	8. Chapter 8

Two days, and Ares still hasn't showed, Thalia is unsure what to do. On one hand, she doesn't know if he even realizes she is on a quest; on the other, he is a god, and really, how could he not know? Surely Lady Artemis has come calling by now, no doubt, looking for her star pupil. So why hasn't he showed up yet? Percy is starting to get weary, and to be honest, so is she, you can only travel in circle for so long before you begin to question yourself. They had reached that time limit about a day and a half ago.

If it had been anyone other than Annabeth she would have called it quits by now. Then again, if it were anyone other than Annabeth, she wouldn't be on this quest in the first place, she'd be with the Hunters, where she belongs. Where she used to belong.

She sighs, she still isn't used to that thought, to the Hunters being the past, to her they would always seem like the present. Like when she turns the corner, when this quest is done, when Annabeth is safe, they will welcome her back with open arms. Yeah, fat chance right there. If only it weren't for Ares, then maybe Lady Artemis would have looked past this quest, would have given her it without the consequences. The consequences, she feels tears forming in the corners of her eyes and she blinks, Percy can't know, he can't feel guilty, at least not until they have Annabeth. Not until he knows it was all worth it. Not until it is all worth it.

"You okay?" Percy is looking at her all concerned like, maybe he has been for a while, because he looks like he is genuinely wondering. She shakes her head; trying to clear it, snap back to the present, Thalia.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She shrugs, "I just wish that Ares would show up already." Show up, give her a ring, hell, even a postcard would be good at this point. Anything to show that she isn't crazy, that he will help them. Anything at all, really.

Percy sighs, and she knows what he's going to say before he even so much as opens his mouth, "What if he doesn't show up?" She starts to protest but he puts up a hand to silence her, "I'm not saying you were lying, for all I know he actually is obsessed with you and on his way here right now. All I'm saying, is what if he isn't? What if he isn't on his way to help us? What if he isn't as obsessed with you as you think? What then?"

She takes a moment, allowing the options to sink in, she's never even considered most of them, or, at least not consciously. They are all kind of hard to accept, because it means that she gave up everything for nothing, that they will never get Annabeth back. In other words, that her life is over and she's got nothing to show for it.

"If he doesn't show up, then we're screwed, okay, Percy? I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. So, I'm just going to continue to believe that he will show up, we will find the Underworld, and Hades will actually by some miracle agree to give us back Annabeth. I'm going to continue to believe that, and I would suggest that you do the same."

She turns, walks away, let him ponder out their other options. Today she is done; she's contributed enough for one day. In the back of her mind, she can't help but wonder is she's wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

Percy is beginning to get fed up. It's day three, and he doesn't want to be mad at Thalia, doesn't want her to be mad at him, wants them each to move past all this pettiness. Apparently, however, that's not going to happen, Thalia wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole right now, and she's acting as though it's his fault. Yeah, it's totally his fault, Thalia has no freaking idea where Ares is, and it's entirely his fault. Yeah, that sounds about right.

"So are you just going to completely ignore me and not say anything for the rest of the quest?" He sighs, he knows his voice is probably rougher than he intends it to be, and he also knows that he is most likely about to get yelled at. What else is new?

"Percy," A pause, "I don't know, okay?" Well, at least she's not yelling, "I don't want it to be like this, and believe me; I'm just as upset as you are about Ares not showing up yet." Still with the yet, like she thinks he's still going to come he's just late.

"I'm not upset that Ares hasn't showed up, I never thought he was going to show up to begin with." He pauses, trying to gather the right words so as not to offend Thalia. "I'm just upset because, well, firstly Annabeth is dead, which, naturally makes me upset, as I'm sure you can understand. Then, I got you to come on this quest and I'm thinking this is going to be great because you love her just as much as I do. I didn't think that as far as us getting along we'd have any problems, but all of a sudden it's like you're, and you are probably going to take major offense to this." He takes another moment trying to gauge how likely she is to kill him, pretty likely.

He takes a breath, readies himself, "I'm not trying to offend you, but it's like you've got major PMS."

She doesn't say anything for a long moment, she doesn't try to kill him, but she doesn't say anything either. He is beginning to get scared when she finally speaks. "I got kicked out of Hunters. That's why I could come, Lady Artemis was already upset about Ares always following me, and then I had to go to Annabeth's funeral, and then it came down to this or Hunters, and I chose this." By now tears are streaming down her cheeks, "I'm not a Hunter anymore, and if Ares doesn't show up it's all for nothing, so I'm sorry if I seem like a bitch lately."

Well, now he feels awful, but mostly shocked, "You gave up Hunters for this? For a quest?"

She shakes her head, "No, I didn't give it up for a quest; I gave it up for Annabeth."

"Gods, I'm sorry, Thalia." He shakes his head and moves to put a hand on her shoulder, "I had no idea, I wouldn't have said any of that if I had." It's true; he wouldn't have uttered a word if he'd known what she'd given up to save Annabeth. He would have kept his lips sealed with a smile.

"I know you wouldn't have, I should have told you, but I didn't want you to feel guilty." She gives a wry sort of grin, "Guess I jumped the boat on that one, huh?"

"Don't worry about me, Thalia, I'm just…I just can't believe that you'd do this for Annabeth. It's amazing, you loved Hunters."

"Yeah, I did, I still do, but I love Annabeth more." She sniffles, but she's starting to look more like herself again, and her tears are starting to dry. "Besides, I was bound to get kicked out eventually. My life never works the way I want it to."

He has to laugh at that one, "We're demigods, of two of the most powerful gods there are, our lives are never going to be how we want them." She is forced to crack a smile at that. Good, that's all he wants, is to make her smile, and stop crying, get on with the quest. "I'm sure that Ares will show up eventually. If he was into you enough that Artemis took notice…well, then it must be true."

She nods, "I hope you're right. I really do, the big idiot needs to at least be good for something, since he screwed me on everything else."

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to talk about the gods that way, especially not that one." He speaks from experience, Ares is a brute force, and the gods are always listening.

"Yeah, well, maybe it'll get his attention."

A deep voice comes from behind them, and Percy feels dread rising in him, dread, but also hope, "Trust me, it'll get his attention."


	10. Chapter 10

Thalia can't believe it, he came, he actually came. He's probably going to kill her, or Percy, or both of them, but at least he came. She makes a mental note to thank the gods later at offering, hell, thank Ares later at offering, if she makes it that long.

"Shit," Percy mutters beside her, and she can't help but echo the sentiment, Ares does not look ready to play Mr. Escort to the Underworld, doesn't look ready to play at all. Well, that's not entirely true, he looks all too happy to play Mr. Pummel the Demigods to Death, yup, she thinks he just might engage in that game.

"Hello, Thalia, Jackson." His glare as he nods at Percy is icy cold, and she is somewhat happy that his nod at her was a bit warmer. He might have actually nearly smiled when he nodded at her, but, she's got her doubts.

Percy nods but says nothing, she doesn't blame him, she's the one that got them into this mess, and it'll be her job to get them out. "Ares," She nods and does her best to give a sincere smile, it feels forced, even to her, "Good to see you."

"The feeling is mutual, as always," His tone is light, but she can feel that he is less than pleased to be here, "Have you been waiting for long?"

Ah, so he does know of the quest, well, at least they are cutting strait to the chase, "A couple of days. We figured you would come sooner, you always have a way of popping in when you're not needed, but neglecting to do so when you are."

Beside her Percy coughs and she knows that she has caught him by surprise, he must think that she's crazy. "Thalia," He mutters, trying to keep his voice low enough so that it stays between the two of them, a good plan, other than the fact that Ares is a god and has amazing hearing. Still, though, good plan to begin with. "Thalia," He tries again, "You can't talk to a god that way, especially not this god."

"Percy, it's fine, Ares and I are at an understanding, nothing I say hurts him, right?" From Ares there is a nod, and she has to conceal a grin, his obsession does have its upsides. Like getting away with murder, might be one of the reasons he's obsessed with her, actually.

"I can't follow you around twenty-four-seven; I do have actual duties, believe it or not, Thalia." There is something in the way that he says her name, something that tells her just how much he cares about her, it's kind of creepy, cool, but definitely creepy. "What is it that you need, or did you just call me here to insult me?"

She has to grin, "Well, insulting you is always fun, but we need to know where the entrance to the Underworld is. We also need an escort there, you can provide all of that, I trust?"

His look is somewhat hard as he answers, and for a moment she begins to doubt whether or not he really is as dedicated to her as he seems. Beside her Percy's hand has somehow become clasped in hers, she gives it a hard squeeze. It's not lost on Ares who gives a sigh, "Why would you want to travel to the Underworld, Thalia?"

"That doesn't really matter, will you take us or not?" She doesn't want to get into all of this unless she absolutely has to; she's got a sinking feeling that she's going to have to tell him about Annabeth. Ares does not like Annabeth, at all, he really hates Percy, but he definitely does not like Annabeth.

"It matters to me, tell me why you want to go and maybe I'll take you." His voice, as well as his expression leaves no room for negotiations, she will have to tell him. Well, he would have found out eventually, she tries to reason, time to face the music.

"Annabeth." She takes a breath, and feels Percy tense beside her, she gives his hand another squeeze, "We have to get back Annabeth." He doesn't know what she's talking about, his eyebrows are lifted and his eyes stormy, she sighs. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, only my best friend, you know, for a stalker you really don't pick up a lot."

Percy is absolutely squirming beside her, she would feel bad for him if she wasn't having so much fun, to him back-talking the gods is a major no-no. To her it's just the norm, at least when it comes to Ares. "Anyway, she died," She takes a moment to check on Percy, unsure of how he will react to the D-word, he seems okay, "Since she died, she's in the Underworld, and since she's there we have to go there to get her back. Now, since we're all caught up, will you help us?" She flashes him a smile, this time it is not nearly as forced, no, she's having way too much fun to have to force a smile.

"I'm sorry about your friend, Thalia, but Hades won't give her back, you have to know that. He can't give her back, it goes against contract." He is solemn, and she is surprised to find honesty in his eyes. She has gotten good at reading him, it's kind of scary.

"He might not." She nods, and isn't surprised to find that Percy has gone still beside her, this is his deepest fear, and if it's true she doesn't know how he'll handle it. The only reason he's doing as well as he has been is because of the quest, because of what the end of this quest is supposed to mean. If he loses that hope, then what he will do next is beyond her.

"He might not, but, he did for Orpheus, and if he did once why not again? Percy and Annabeth have each done more for Olympus and the gods than Orpheus ever did, if anyone has a shot of getting on Hades good side, it's them. Even you have to see that." He has to, because he is their ride to the Underworld, and if he doesn't see it, then they are screwed, completely screwed.

"I see that you believe it, and that it's important to you." She nods, and he gives a small, wry grin, "So, yeah, I'll help you." She is surprised, shocked really to find herself with her arms thrown around him, his around her, she doesn't know how she got there. She's more surprised by how right it feels.

"Thank you."


	11. Chapter 11

This is all starting to seem too weird. Okay, so Thalia said Ares was/is obsessed with her, he got that, he'd had time to get used to that. She never said anything about it being romantically, or sexually, or whatever it is that they have. Whatever it is, it definitely is a 'they' effort , despite what she might try to deny, he has eyes, she's just as obsessed with Ares as he is with her.

He's not sure where they are, they've been traveling with Ares for about three days, and he's been what Percy would call overly-secretive about the location of the entrance to the Underworld. Not that he has said one word to Percy, it's as though he doesn't exist at all, no, to Ares there is only Thalia. Which, although it is kind of creepy, is fine with Percy, the last thing he needs to be worried about is a fight with Ares. No, any confrontation with Ares will have to come after they get his Wise Girl back.

"So," Thalia's voice cuts through his thoughts, he looks up, but she is beside Ares, looking at Ares, talking to Ares, of course, it would be absolutely crazy for her to talk to him. He's only one of her best friends, that's all, no big deal.

"What?" It sounds like he is annoyed, but that's just what it sounds like, after having watched the two of them for three days Percy knows that Ares is delighted to begin their daily, hourly, half-hourly-exchange. Not that Percy listens to them or anything.

"Oh, nothing," She fakes wistfulness, "I just always thought that gods moved a lot faster than this." She is fighting to keep a smile off her face, he can tell from the way her words are more scrunched at the end. It's difficult to explain, but when you know a person long enough you can definitely tell.

He doesn't know Ares well enough and can't see him smiling, but he's sure that he is. "They do when they don't have baggage. You're lucky you're getting there at all. I don't have to take you anywhere."

"No," She says, and Percy has to shake his head, she just eggs him on, he's the one obsessed with her, that's rich. That's very rich when she's flirting her Death-To-Barbie T-shirt off. "No, you didn't have to take us anywhere, but, then again, now that I'm out of Hunters how else would you stalk me?"

"You're out of Hunters?" There is no mistaking the interest in Ares voice, and Percy is more than surprised by it. How could Ares not know that?

Thalia apparently is equally surprised, because she takes what would almost be considered a pregnant pause before answering. "You didn't know that?" Almost to herself she mutters, "How could you not know that? How could Lady Artemis not tell you that?" There is genuine hurt in her voice and if Ares wasn't there then Percy would go and hug her. Artemis had meant the world to Thalia, probably still does; he knows that she always thought that Artemis felt the same way. Simple reasoning is that Artemis would have confronted Ares about Thalia being forced to leave in part because of him; he feels a small tug at his heart for his friend.

Ares apparently picks up on her tone too, because his next words are also subdued, and, for him, kind. Well, kind might be a stretch, but they aren't unkind, so, it's close enough. "No, she never told me, but I'm sure that she'll be waiting for me with an array of flaming arrows when I get back. I've been doing well to avoid her recently."

Thalia nods and Percy knows that she wants to believe it, but she doesn't, she just doesn't want to have to talk and therefore think about Hunters anymore. Not right now anyway, not when the pain is still fresh in her mind, broken dreams take too long to heal, way too long. They are walking in silence now, and Percy has to welcome it, it gives him a chance to think of his Wise Girl.

Will she still be the same when she comes back? There's no if she comes back, he will get her back, he knows the trick, he knows the gods, she will be behind him, and that will be good enough for him. It will have to be, he will not allow himself to slip, and his performance will be flawless.

He is concerned though, what if the girl that he loved is no longer there? What is she went up in smoke with her body? What if she is just a shadow of what she once was? What is she's no longer his Wise Girl? The thought chills him, but he won't allow himself to believe it. He has to believe that she will still be there or at least that she will be able to resurface, he can help her with that of course, and being a son of Poseidon he is great at resurfacing.

No matter how hard he tries he can't shake the evil thoughts, they eat away at the edge of his consciousness, and he knows that if he dreams tonight, as he has dreamed every night since she left, it will be nightmares. The theme of the nightmares, will of course be a toggle between her death and her in the Underworld, his beautiful, smart, incredible Wise Girl in the Underworld with all kinds of scum, it's enough to make you cringe. Of course, she is in the good part, the part where the heroes go, but it still doesn't make up for the fact that she is there to begin with, nothing will ever make up for that mistake.

He is completely sure of one thing, though, once he gets her back that will be the end of letting her go. She will be with him, and he will never let her go, just hold her for hours, tell her how much he loves her. Yes, when he gets her back that's what he will do. Ahead of him the talking starts up again.


	12. Chapter 12

It's quiet; the only sound is the distant hoot of an owl, occasionally a bristle of wind in the nearby tree branches, her Hunter-toned senses don't miss a beat of it. Across from her Percy is asleep, his face balled up in concentration and his body writhing almost every ten minutes, she has been debating on waking him up, but has decided against it. She worries about him, more and more as this quest continues. They're getting closer, Ares hasn't said as much, but she can tell, just as she's sure that Percy can.

They are getting closer, and that's what scares her, what if they can't get Annabeth back? What if Hades won't make the deal, what if Percy can't resist temptation? Oh, Gods, there are so many ways they can fuck this up. She feels her breath begin to hitch in her throat, she can't remember the last time this happened, she's tried to be strong, tried to be strong for Percy, for herself, for everyone. She is tired of being strong, it's like something inside of her just suddenly deflates; like when you're little floating in the deep end with only a small tube to keep you from going under. There you are, just innocently floating along, then all of a sudden it bursts, and you find yourself desperately grasping and flapping your arms around, just trying to find a way to stay up. To keep your head above the water, keep it out of your lungs, but you can't anymore, suddenly you are sinking, and the water is in your eyes so you close them, but it's still there, stinging like crazy. You gasp, try to rub away the pain, breathe through your nose, but all that does is help to ease along the suffocation, slowly you are dying, drowning in this pool that was fun not ten seconds ago. That's what if feels like. Like suffocation, like she is slowly suffocating, her body shutting down and going numb, like eventually she won't feel anything at all.

The thought is almost too much to bear, and a sob breaks lose, she tries to stifle it, but it is too late, Percy stirs, and she holds her breath. He doesn't wake up, thank the Gods; tears are cutting cool, silent tracks down her cheeks, dripping off her chin, until they're not. A warm, strong hand passes gently over her face, carrying the tears away with it. The movement is so unexpected she freezes, the hand, as though just realizing its movements, freezes too. There is a silence before it falls away, electricity that she hadn't known was there is extinguished. The touch didn't last for a minute, but still she can feel with a cool certainty the exact area where his hand made contact with her face, the movement, as well as the sensation it brought was sudden, unexpected; already she is aching for more.

"You don't have to be ashamed to cry." His voice is warm, and in a way it is more startling than the touch. It is almost kind, and completely lacking in the sarcasm it normally swims in; none of the normal cruelty is hiding behind the exterior. He is actually being sincere, Ares, God of War, is actually being kind to her.

She shakes her head, this time not caring that her voice comes out slightly hitched, "I have to be strong, he won't make it through this if I'm not strong." She casts a glance that she hopes will pass for meaningful at the sleeping figure of her best friend. Ares winces, but nods, and for that she is proud, Percy is not, by any means Ares favorite person, but he will at least acknowledge the fact that he is important to _her._

"He's stronger than he looks." He gives her a long look, a look that sends shivers, not necessarily of dread, down her spine, "Besides, it's not your duty to be strong; you're only a girl, Thalia." She shoots him a glare hot enough to melt wax, he sighs, "You're a strong girl, but you're still young, you shouldn't have to be his keeper."

She sighs, "I'm not his keeper, I'm his best friend, or, at least the only one around. He needs me, he won't get through this without me, Ares," Her eyes are watering so bad that she can't even see him anymore, "He just won't, you don't know him like I do. He puts on a good show, but the kids' a mess."

He pulls her to him, and his embrace is fierce, it's like liquid fire everywhere; but in a good, non-threatening way, in a way that conveys warmth instead of heat, love instead of hate. She sinks into it, and it's instant relief, not like forgetting her problems, but leaving them to float in the air for just a moment. For the first time in a long time she allows herself to cry, to truly sob; not the stifled, short and sweet muffled cries that she had induced earlier, but racking, heart-aching sobs.

She sobs for a lot of things; it's like all the troubles of the past few months, of her life really, have just been building up, waiting for this one perfect moment to be released. Ares pats her back and strokes her hair, never once relinquishing his grip, after a while she stops looking at Percy, if he has slept through this much he will make it through the rest.

He is one of the reasons that she is sobbing, but just one among many. Hunters, Annabeth, Percy, Luke, her father, it's like they have all been simmering on a back-burner, just waiting for their chance to shine, catching fire when they get it.

It takes about an hour, and finally she is all cried out, her body is exhausted, and it is with dry eyes and blunt tone that she addresses the man/god beside her. "Is it going to work?" Her tone is steel, and she knows that it leaves no room for false answers, also knows that he won't give her any, she is almost afraid of what he will say, but she must know. "Are we going to get her back?"

He takes a breath, and turns, his eyes not leaving hers as he answers with a fierce sort of intensity. "No. There is a very slight chance, but it's also the same thing that is essentially damning you." His voice is blunt, and his stare point-blank, "You're each children of the big three, and you each have a history with the gods, depending on how you play your cards you're either blessed or screwed. I tend to lean towards the latter."

She nods, it makes sense, did she ever really think they would get Annabeth back? Had she really ever been that naïve? She sighs; it's hard to tell anymore, for the first time in an hour she spares a glance at Percy, poor, sleeping Percy. He is still writhing, his face is still scrunched up and every now and then mutters a word that sounds suspiciously like Beth, a flicker of a smile passes over his face, but just as quickly it is gone. She feels her heart break in two, but it is a numb type of feeling, like she knows it's there, but can't fully grasp the harshness of it; it's somewhat of a relief.

Ares seems to follow her gaze, and she turns back to him, somewhat surprised to hear how blunt her voice is, how true her words are. "It'll kill him." She gives a dry, humorless laugh, a laugh that she has never heard before, Ares looks semi-frightened by it, but she doesn't care, "This stupid idea, it's the only thing that he's living for right now. I'm not stupid; he won't make it past this quest, not without her." She'll be alone. The realization is haunting, startlingly so in its accuracy, her two best friends will be dead, her father wants nothing to do with her, and she no longer has Hunters. It's enough to break through the numbness.

"I'll…I'll…I'll have no one, they'll all be dead…I don't know where Grover is…and the others will be dead." She struggles to make the words come out between sobs, wanting this to be done with, the fear, it's almost paralyzing, the fear of being alone. "I…I shouldn't…shouldn't have to deal with this…If it were me…instead of Annabeth…if it were me…she'd be able to deal with it…She'd be able to make him deal with it...They'd be okay..." She takes a breath, tries to steady herself but can't, his arms are back around her, and for that she is grateful, without them she would fall. "It…It should have…It should have been me."

His arms tighten around her, and his voice is a growl, "No. Don't you ever say that, Thalia Grace, don't you ever say that you deserve to die or that you should be dead, not around me. Do you understand?" She nods, and his voice lightens slightly, "You won't be alone, you'll always have me, no matter what happens with everyone else, you'll always have me."

She nods, and when she lies down he is beside her, neither of them say anything, neither acknowledge her hand slipping silently into his.

**A/N: So, this chapter was a bit more Thares, well, a lot more Thares, let me know what you think about that, please. Do you like the idea or does it disgust you? Should the next chapter be more travel or should they finally reach the Underworld? OPINIONS NECESSARY. P.S. Sorry about the wait, I've been busy lately, which is why you should review to keep me motivated to continue **


	13. Chapter 13

He wakes up in a cold sweat, he looks down and is relieved to find that it is only sweat, not blood, in the dream it was blood, her blood. He shakes himself, still hearing the screams that had plagued him last night; her screams, terrified and full of agony; another shake, it was just a dream, that's all it was, a dream. But it had seemed so real. Stop it, Percy; he takes a breath, forget about it. He can't, it's like she's trying to tell him something; they keep getting worse, the dreams, each night, it's always worse.

Last nights' had been particularly bad, it had, like most of the others, been the battle, only this time he couldn't do anything, he was there, but he couldn't do anything. He was right beside the soldier, he could have easily disarmed him, easily killed him, but he couldn't, his body wouldn't move, his mouth wouldn't open; all he could do was wait. Wait with that sickening feeling of dread in his stomach, watch and wait as the soldier slowly raises his sword, as she continues to fight, unawares of the predator behind her. She is looking for him, distracted, too distracted to hear the nearly silent footsteps behind her, much too distracted to hear the deadly quiet raise of the sword. He watches with a sick feeling in his stomach, like he's going to puke, but can't, it's almost a physical pain, a burning in his gut, he wants to turn away, to close his eyes, anything but this. Anything but watch this.

He knows what happens next, the soldier's sword comes down, and finally she turns, but it is too late; blood everywhere, soaking through her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt-they hadn't had time to put on armor-why couldn't they have taken time to put on armor? Because it was a surprise attack, he thinks bitterly. She cries out, calls his name, she is sobbing and clutching her side, trying to staunch the blood flow; it isn't deterred in the least. A tall boy with jet-black hair and sea-green eyes comes running over; distantly Percy is aware that it is himself, but only distantly. The boy comes to a halt, and the look on his face is that of pure shock and absolute horror, his skin is ashen. She is reaching for him, and he quickly kneels beside her, takes her head in his lap, tears are forming in his eyes.

"Just hold on, Wise Girl, just stay with me," He begs, "Oh, Gods…" He croaks, "Annabeth, just stay with me." The Percy watching has gone numb; he is helpless to do anything but watch the young couple. Watch himself.

"I love you, Percy. Tell my parents that I love them, too." Her voice is just above a whisper, the blood is flowing freely now, the boy shakes his head sending his hair in every direction imaginable. His eyes, though swimming with tears are wide and determined.

"No… Annabeth, no, we're going to get through this…you're going to get through this…you have to." The boy is choking now, and his hand is pressed uselessly into the girl's side, his hand is turning red. "Please…I love you." He is sobbing now, but even as he says it the light is fading from the girl's eyes, in a matter of seconds, she is gone. The boy utters a sound that is not quite human, he screams, clutches her to him, but it is to no avail. It's as though he is not aware of the battle around him, distantly he is probably aware of the dead soldier's body beside him, distantly he is probably wondering how the soldier died, but consciously, she's all there is. All there ever was. Her body is pressed against his now, and a small pool of blood is forming, soaking through his shirt, but he doesn't notice, doesn't notice anything, only the sudden departure of light from her grey eyes. This is when he wakes; this is always when he wakes.

"Percy?" Thalia's voice is gentle, almost as gentle as her hand on his shoulder, but still it makes him jump, if she notices she doesn't let on. "Percy, are you okay?" Her voice is so kind, her words sincere, but still he has to fight himself not to blow up at her. Is he okay? Is he okay? He's alive and well if that's what she means, but is he really okay? No, and she must know that as well as he does, he's not okay. He hasn't been okay and he won't be okay until he is once again holding his Wise Girl in his arms, this time without blood and with light and a pulse. So, right now is he okay, no, he's not okay, but Thalia is only trying to help, she's given up her entire life for this quest and it for that reason alone that he forces himself to nod and put on something that might pass for a pained smile.

"Yeah, just…nightmares…that kind of stuff." He feels his smile waver slightly, feels his shoulders give a little tremble, "Nothing too out of the ordinary." She is eyeing him doubtfully, but after a moment shrugs, out of the corner of his eye he can see Ares watching her closely, almost a little too closely. It's not in a scary-I'm-going-to-kill-you-and-laugh-while-I-do-it type of way, but more a I'm-interested-to-see-how-you-deal-with-this type of way.

"If you're sure," She gives his shoulder a squeeze as if to leave, but seems to hesitate before lowering her voice, "You know if you ever need to talk I'm here, right?" The question startles him, of course he knows that she's there, she's been the only constant of this entire quest, but still he hesitates. He isn't sure how this relates to her question, but somehow it feels like it does, somehow it seems life-or-death important that he know the answer to this.

"What's going on between you and him?" He jerks a thumb roughly in the direction of the war god, "Don't say nothing." It's not his business, and he knows it, but somehow it seems imperative that he finds out the truth, maybe it's a matter of trust, maybe it's just curiosity…he isn't sure, only that he has to know.

Thalia blinks, looks to Ares helplessly before shrugging, finally she turns back to him and meets his eyes, "I don't know; I wish I could tell you, Percy, but I don't know." He nods, he expected something like that, he is silent for a long moment, contemplating that, a long moment during which Thalia doesn't say anything, doesn't so much as twitch the hand lying on his shoulder. Ares is still watching them, his face alight with amusement and fascination, probably more fascinated with what Thalia had to say about him, but that's just Percy's guess.

Finally he nods again, "Okay," He turns away and her hand slowly withdraws from his shoulder, he can almost feel the intensity of the looks that she and Ares must be sharing over his head. "Thalia," She turns, "Thanks, for everything." He means it, and by the relieved look that she is giving him she obviously can tell, he's glad.

It is just after she shoots him a small, sad smile that he addresses Ares for the first time since he joined the quest, it is with great solemnity and more than a little trepidation that he asks the question that he has most been dreading. The question that he has been both dreading and anticipating, both because of the possible outcome, "We're getting closer aren't we? To the Underworld?"

It is with some amusement but more so with surprise that the god of war turns to him, his eyes dancing, "We are. Very close, we should reach it by the end of the day, that is, if things go according to plan." His eyes still dancing he continues, "How would you know that, Jackson?"

Lucky guess comes to the tip of his tongue, but he is already on bad enough terms enough gods, this one in particular, he doesn't need to add lying to the blackmailing list. So instead he decides to tell the truth, of course, it's not without trepidation, but it is the truth nonetheless. "My dreams, they've been getting worse, much worse, the farther that we've traveled."

Ares nods, looking considerably thoughtful, and Thalia looks equally intrigued, but not all that surprised. She probably hears me; I probably scream in my sleep, he thinks bitterly. He wouldn't be surprised. "That would make sense, never happened to me personally, but I've heard of it happening. That much dark energy tends to get to some people, especially those already in a weak state of mind." He says the last part with a grin and a bit of cockiness, but Percy doesn't care, by the end of the day this will all be done. He will either have her or she will gone forever. The prospect is terrifying, almost spine-tinglingly so. When it is time to go he finds that he is frozen, that he has to think about how to get up, he does it quickly enough that is not incredibly noticeable, but all the same Thalia shoots him another of her worried looks. He tries to give her a grin, but it just turns out to be more of a pained, broken frown than anything else. She leaves it alone.

They walk in silence the whole way, and it is because of that silence that Percy finally allows himself to think about life without Annabeth. No more Seaweed Brain, no more underwater kisses, no more long talks about architecture... the pain is almost physical in its intensity. Like each thought is a separate blow to his already aching heart, it sounds like a bad romance novel, but that's how it feels. No, if she dies he won't make it, or, if she stays dead he won't make it, he just won't be able to. Won't be able to force himself to care about battles, gods, training, anything, he'll just be done. Up until now he had never understood how Selena had felt when Beckendorf had died, hadn't thought that it could possibly hurt this bad, now he knows better. Now he wishes that he could talk to Selena, ask her some of her tricks, and ask her how she had managed as long as she did before it all ended. He has a sick feeling that he might find out soon enough.

He is so wrapped up in his own thoughts, it's not until they've been traveling at least a couple of hours that he notices Thalia holding hands with Ares. Normally that would freak him out, but today he is too nervous to do anything but simply shrug and accept it. Who is he to judge? Grover's dated a tree before, so really in comparison with that how is a god so bad? Even if he is the god of war.

They are in the middle of some sort of desert, at least that's what it looks like and feels like, there is no grass, only sand, and it is miserably hot, at least a hundred. They are close, the dream is repeating itself, parts of it again and again, the color has long since left his face, and Thalia has been glancing back at him continuously as though to make sure that he is still there and not dead in the dust. He has stopped trying to flash her reassuring looks, he can't concentrate on those anymore, no, the dreams are much too intense for that, it's as though he is living them, again. Sweat is pouring down his face, and he is very much aware of how little of it is from the heat. Apparently Thalia is too.

"We need to stop." It is the first time that any of them have talked since leaving last night's camp, and it seems to startle everyone, even Thalia. "We need to stop." She repeats it again, this time with more authority in her tone, "Now." Ares is looking at her with mild curiosity, but does not seem all that surprised, Percy can hardly concentrate on her, which is probably why when she speaks again she is looking directly at him but speaking to Ares. "He needs to rest, look at him…" She gestures and gives a small sort of wince, as though it pains her to look at him, he doesn't blame her. "Ares," She lowers her voice to a whisper, but still, somehow, he can hear it, "He's going to pass out."

"We're too close to stop now; it'd only make it worse on him to stop here, the sooner we get to the Underworld the better." Ares words aren't nearly as hushed, but they are much kinder than normal, Percy suspects it's because he's talking to Thalia. There is some more muttering from ahead, but he doesn't hear it, at least not any of the actual words themselves, it is back to that moment, that moment where the sword entered her body, this time is a thousand times worse, however, this time he's the soldier. He's the soldier, yet still he's powerless to stop his own hand from striking the blow. Completely and utterly powerless, tears are rolling down his cheeks, but he can't help it, can't force himself to care that Thalia and Ares both are probably watching this with a disgusted fascination, no; all he cares about is this. Watching himself kill Annabeth, it is with a sick sense of relief that he feels another sword slide into his own body, the pain is unbearable, and he falls, but the relief, the relief of not having to look at her anymore, it makes the pain more than worthwhile. He is just thinking this when he falls, passes out, this time for real.

**A/N: I am very proud of this chapter, myself, but I want to hear what you think. Did you think it was over-the-top or just right? Anything you want to see more of, anything you want to see less of? I really do need to know this stuff in order to continue the story successfully, your opinions matter the most to me. Please review, it's really easy; like, really, really easy. Please and thank you! ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

Thalia doesn't say anything, she doesn't have to; Percy has no sooner fallen than Ares has lifted him, hefting him over his shoulder as though he is no more than a sack of potatoes. To him he probably is. Ares is back at her side in an instant, and she can't help but wince as Percy bobs along unconsciously against his back. Annabeth will never know how much this boy loves her. It's a haunting thought.

"We'll be there soon," His voice is grim, and she nods, she already knew this. She can feel it, not anywhere near the way that Percy feels it, but it is still there. A sucking feeling, almost like exhaustion, but ringed in dark energy, it's like it has surrounded her subconscious, enveloping it in a blanket of numbness almost like Novocain. She can't force herself to care about his scarred hand, warm and strong in her own, can't really seem to force herself to care about anything to be honest.

There is one thought, though, one thought that seems to break through the darkness, one that sends cold tendrils around her heart, icy in their panic. Her voice is almost a whisper, "Am I going to lose him, too?" His hand tightens around hers, and he doesn't answer immediately, "This energy, can it kill him?" Still no answer, and she feels tears cutting warm tracks down her cheeks, they are frustrated tears, but underneath there is also genuine fear. "Ares," She takes a breath and forces them to stop so that she can catch his eyes with her own, "This energy," Her voice is almost too quiet to hear, "This energy, can it kill him? Please?" The last part comes out almost as a sob, but there is nothing for that, Percy is her best friend, and Ares eyes. The look in his eyes, already she feels herself sinking.

"No…" She whispers, and if not for his grip, now firm on her arm, she would have fallen by now, "No… not Percy." She shakes her head, "Ares…" She falters, "No…"

"I'm sorry, Thalia." His voice holds genuine warmth, and for a moment that shines through the darkness, but just as quickly as it registers it vanishes, "There are no guarantees about anything. Can it kill him, yes; will it kill him, I don't know; from the way it looks I wouldn't hold my hopes out either way."

She falls, he catches her easily around the waist, against his shoulder Percy is writhing and sweat is beginning to bead on his forehead, the numbness is back, they are close; very, very close. Ares is half-supporting half-carrying her as they continue to walk, "Not much farther now." All she can do is nod, they walk about ten more feet; it feels like ten miles.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short! The next one will be longer if I get reviews, and speaking of, just want to remind you to review, :) I love hearing from everyone, I really do, and it does influence the pace at which this story is written. Anyway, so what do you think should happen/ and or will happen? Should Percy and Annabeth both live happily ever after, or should there be some sort of major death or heartbreak? Always interested, please let me know what you think.**


	15. Chapter 15

Sweat is pouring down his forehead; his heart is beating so hard it hurts, it's a very physical pain, like it's going to break through his chest, one of his hands is clutched over it. The beat of it drones in his ears, and even if her footsteps weren't silent, he wouldn't' be able to hear them, he can't hear anything, just the irregular beat of his pounding heart. His head is aching, throbbing, almost like it will explode, at this point he wouldn't be surprised. It hurts, and his teeth are gritted in a weak attempt to stifle the screams that are fighting to escape. All it would take is one slip, and his ears would be ringing with them, but he must not speak, and somehow he knows that, knows that to speak would be the death of him, and Annabeth.

Mere feet stand between him and the line, mere feet stand between him and the love of his life, he is probably one foot from that freedom when it comes. Like a shard of ice being wedged into his brain, he feels his hand leave his heart, but it is an unconscious movement on his part, he can no more control it than he can feel it. The ice is wedged in now, none of the pain diminishing in the least, another shard comes flying, and then another, multiplying until all he can see is red. This is Hades, he thinks bitterly or maybe somewhat subconsciously; this is what happens when you cross the god of death; he kills you, maybe not physically, not through war or with some sort of deadly disease, but mentally. He drives you to the point when you are ready to kill yourself.

Another shard comes flying, this one, unlike the others almost radiating heat, like flames licking at you from an open fire, he feels it drive into his brain with ease, almost melting the tissue around it. Tears are streaming down his face. He can take it no more, scream escapes, so pain-filled and full of hysteria that it almost doesn't sound human. He claps a hand over his mouth, at least he thinks he does, as he sinks to the ground, he doesn't have to turn around to know that he's blown it. He turns around anyway.

The pain is evaporated, and he is frozen in place, forced to watch. She is there, for one brief moment she is there, looking beautiful and stunning as ever, her shirt clean of blood, and her eyes sparkling brightly. She is there for one moment, and that moment is enough to break everything inside of him, to make the tears turn into sobs, to make his hear shatter, because the next she is gone. A hand, larger than life and enveloped in flames, reaches for her, and suddenly ashes lay where just a moment ago she stood. Numbly he crawls to them, feels them gritting into his palms, "No…" He whispers, "No… not again." He chokes, "Please…not again…please…" He collapses.

"Percy…" A voice her voice, low and questioning…concerned, why is she concerned about him? She's the one who's dead… "Percy!" The voice is more urgent now, and he is shaking…or someone is shaking him...

"Annabeth?" He blinks his eyes, looks up...someone is beside him, a hand on his shoulder…that explains the shaking…the thought is no more than a flicker. The girl beside him is beautiful, and her eyes are full of concern, but she's not Annabeth…Thalia.

He blinks again, and is distantly aware of the war god's hand on Thalia's shoulder, something that even she herself seems oblivious to. He groans, and puts a hand to his face, not entirely startled to find that it is drenched in sweat, sweat and tears. He winces, and Thalia's hand tightens around his shoulder in what is meant to be a comforting gesture. It is somewhat frightening, and he is left to wonder how bad he must look, his best guess would be pretty bad. Even Ares' eyes seem to be filled with either a sense of compassion or maybe just disgust, it's hard to tell with him. In either case, it means nothing good.

"Was it the same one?" Her voice is quiet, grim in a way that is almost haunting; and her eyes are filled with a deep blend of sadness… they do not leave his as she asks. Ares is also looking at him peculiarly, as though he is genuinely curious as to what his answer might be.

Numbly he shakes his head, "No." Again, "No…it was worse…much, much worse." He takes a breath, lets it out, it feels good. "I couldn't do it…I was right there, feet away…and I couldn't do it." He turns his attention completely to her; Ares fades into the background, "What if I mess this up, Thalia?"

Her eyes soften, "Then you mess it up, Perce, then you mess it up and we go home." Her voice is soft, but neither one of them misses the question behind the words. Neither one of them is ignorant; they each know the real answer, probably have known it since this quest started.

He shakes his head, and he feels fresh tears running down his cheeks, he wipes them away in a semi-fit of disgust, "No… if I mess this up… you go home." He sits up, and the world spins, he can feel Thalia's steadying hand on his shoulder, but still he continues, "If I mess this up you go home, and I stay there. Forever."

Tears are now leaking down Thalia's cheeks, but still she nods, "I know." She whispers, and he just nods back, he doesn't have the strength to do any more. Dimly he registers as her hand leaves his shoulder, registers Ares tightening his grip on hers, pulling her up, pulling her to him, but only distantly. They are so close now, so close to possible failure; to possibly losing the most beautiful, incredible, most amazing girl who ever lived. It is maddening.

Ares offers him a hand, and grudgingly he takes it, pulls himself up, gives a small nod in Ares' general direction, it's about all he can manage. "Let's go." His voice is firm, some might say determined, some might say frightened, it's all a matter of opinion; to him it just sounds grim.

"No place to go," Ares voice is hard, but not in a cruel way, more in a solemn type of way; it sends a wave of chills down his spine, "We're here."

Percy looks around, feeling slightly dazed, sand and cacti dot the horizon for as long as he can see, it is scorching hot; but it's not the Underworld. He has been to the Underworld, and this is definitely not it, he shakes his head and looks up to see if Ares is serious; what he sees takes his breath away.

The god's expression is indeed serious, almost gruesomely so; his eyes are hard, and underneath that is grim quality of understanding; his fist are clenched; and there is a tenseness to him that seems rather frightening. Behind him the desert landscape is beginning to melt away, the sky to darken, the sand to dirt and rock, in the distance a palace is forming, Percy watches silently. Beside Ares Thalia's eyes are also turned to the changing world around them, dimly he watches as she takes Ares' hand, but his eyes keep floating back to the forming palace; Hades' palace. "How?" He chokes out, hardly able to believe what he is seeing, "How could…how did…we were just in the middle of a desert…" He trails off, unsure of how to phrase the question, luckily Ares just nods.

"It's one of the perks of being a god, Jackson. You don't have to deal with that bumbling idiot, Charon…and…" He pauses, as if trying to discern what to mention and what to leave out… "More entrances are open to you."

"I thought there were only two entrances to the Underworld?" Thalia's voice is quiet, almost in awe of what she is seeing, but there is genuine curiosity in it as well, "The one with Charon and the one in Central Park."

Ares nods again, and this time a small smile graces his lips, "There are only two entrances for you…" A small laugh, more dark than humorous, "As I said… when you are a god, there is really no end to the opportunities." Thalia just nods.

It is completely formed now, and it is exactly how he remembers it; cold, although physically very hot; the very air seems to be tinged with heartache and despair, pain, suffering, the cries of thousands of souls. Harpies are flying in the distance, and Percy is semi-aware that he should be afraid of those, that he was afraid of them last time, but he can't find it in himself to care. He can't find it in himself because all he can think about is her. How close he is to her, this entire quest, these last dreadful days…they are all about to be made worthwhile; because soon, hopefully very soon; he will be holding her. The thought is enough to bring a small smile to his face, a smile that is almost instantly obliterated by the appearance of the God of Death himself, Hades.

Percy sucks in a breath and forces himself to even out his shoulders, keep his head high, make eye-contact with the immortal who holds the key to everything. Hades isn't looking at him, though; the god's gaze has fallen over to Ares who meets it easily. Hades eyes are sparkling with unmasked curiosity and a fiendish sort of delight, it makes Percy shiver, the way you shiver while watching something particularly horrific or gruesome. The shiver is not lost to the god who gives an amused sort of half-smile that could probably pass as a grin by creep standards. "Interesting entrance choice, Ares, can't say that anybody has used that one in quite a while." He grins, "Then again, very rarely does anybody come down here on their own accord." He gives a laugh at that, it is chilling and dark, more filled with menace then with joy; it is not at all a pleasant sound.

Ares just nods, unperturbed by the obvious foreboding quality in Hades' tone; it almost matches that of his own, "It seemed like the best place." He replies evenly, his voice cool as ice.

Hades drops his smile, drops the whole charade, "What business do you have here, Ares?" He does not as much as glance at the demigods standing just slightly to the left of him, it is as though they are not even there. Percy is unsure of whether or not that's a good thing. He's leaning towards not so much; but that's just a guess.

Ares is silent for a long moment, as if seriously considering the question, and for a moment Percy is afraid, more afraid than he's been in a very, very long time. For as far back as he can remember really; he is afraid, horribly and utterly terrified that Ares has just taken them all the way here to blow it up in their faces. To blow it up in their faces like some sick joke, like teasing a starving dog with a bone; his stomach is churning, and the headache, though not anywhere near as powerful as the one in the dream, is back. It is just a tingling, but he has a feeling it will only get worse; his palms are sweating and he is holding his breath, waiting to hear what Ares will counter that with, and for a moment he thinks he might fall. That he might lose the ability to stand, because when Ares replies it is almost as bad as the silence, maybe worse. The war god's expression is just as calm as ever, his tone just as even as before, but his words; his words send chills of ice down Percy's spine. "None," Then continues with a slight shake of his head, "I have absolutely no business here, Hades."

"Then why have you some?" The other god's voice is filled with a deadly sort of curiosity, but Percy is almost too numb to hear it. "Surely this is not just a social call? I stopped receiving those long ago." He sighs as if lost in the moment, but it is a sinister sigh, one that lets note that he is completely on his guard, no matter how deceiving his appearance; and it is deceiving. "And more importantly…why have you brought the demigods?" Oh, so he does realize that they're there; well, glad they got that out of the way, Percy's thoughts are turning bitter, after bitter will come anger, he just hopes that it won't come to that. Gods, he hopes it won't have to come to that.

Ares expression remains cool, almost casual in its calmness, his voice still even he jerks his head to the left of him where Percy stands alongside Thalia, it is a harsh movement. "Idon't have business here, _he_ does." With that he steps back, and with an ease that is almost magnetic, Thalia goes with him; leaving Percy to stand alone. To stand alone against the God of the Underworld, he feels a breath sliver out of him with ease, funny, he hadn't even known he was holding one. His hands are shaking; he curls them into fists, hopefully quick enough to conceal it from the god. Not quick enough judging by Hades amused smirk.

"Jackson…" He mulls, "Been awhile since I last saw you…can't say that I'm exactly sorry…" He breaks off almost abruptly, "What do you want here?"

Percy sucks in another fast breath, the headache is pounding; the beat of it almost rivaling that of his heart; but he won't let that get in the way, no, suck it up, pull yourself through this. For Annabeth, you've got to pull yourself through this for Annabeth; her name snaps him back to the present, back to the coldness of Hades' eyes. "Annabeth Chase." His voice is a breath, and he wets his lips, forces his voice to be louder, "I want Annabeth Chase."

Hades smiles, actually smiles, it is a frightening sight, almost enough so as to rival the Underworld itself. It is not a kind smile, not in the least; it is a malicious smile, one that tells him well enough what the god's answer will be. He feels something inside of him shatter, distantly he thinks it might be his heart, but he is concentrating now on standing up, on remembering how to stand up. "Why should I give you the Chase girl? Hmm… what makes you so much more special than all the other heartbroken souls who've wandered in here over the years?" Hades voice is malicious, but it also reflects genuine curiosity, Percy doesn't blame him, can't, because he himself has been going over this question like mad, and still he only has a slight grasp on its answer.

"Why shouldn't you?" He is surprised by how bitter he sounds, but also at how firm, his hands are unclenched now, the shaking has stopped; now all there is is resolve. He came down here to get Annabeth, he came all this way, he will leave with her, he will leave with her or he won't leave at all. "Why shouldn't you, Hades? I've helped you and the gods on more than one occasion, Annabeth helped you and the gods on more than one occasion. She helped redesign Olympus." He is unaware that he is shouting, but it wouldn't matter much even if he was, "She never asked for anything, all I've ever asked of any of the gods is for recognition of their own sons and daughters. Don't you think… that maybe, just maybe, after all we've done for you, you could find it in yourself to do something for me?" His voice lowers and he is pleading with him now, "One chance, just one chance…You gave Orpheus a chance just for playing music…please."

The god's expression is unreadable, and he feels something inside of him sinking, he has blown it, he has blown his only shot at bringing Annabeth back. He is shaking now, waiting for the silence to be broken, it is like torture; long and slow, maddening.

Finally Hades takes a breath, seems to consider something for a moment, and nods; it might be the most beautiful sight that Percy has ever seen. "Alright, Jackson, I'll give you a chance; the same as I gave Orpheus, but with a twist." Percy nods, at this point he would agree to anything, sell his eternal soul; sure, where do I sign? "You will walk out the same path as Orpheus, but you must not look back until she is through the door… if you do I will make it so that you never see her again… not even in death, do we have a deal?" The god leans forward, his eyes hungry and his hand outstretched, Percy takes it within seconds, shakes it.

"We've got a deal."

**A/N: Ah, getting closer now to the end… or are we? *Laughs* What did you think of this chapter, is it living up to your expectations so far? Wondering…should there be another long chapter from Percy's POV or a short chapter from Thalia's, or possibly a long one with both? Drop a review and let me know which one you would feel the best about. BTW, is there anything you want to see more of, anything you want to see less of? Anything you want to know more about? Also quick thanks to **lightningkid333 **for reviewing last chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16

Thalia watches, unblinking, as Percy takes the hand of one of the most powerful gods there is, watches with something close to giddiness in her stomach as he shakes it, once, firmly. _That's it_, she thinks, the ball is finally in motion. She feels almost like Atlas, which is equally as terrible as it is true. It's like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders… _not even in death…_ Percy's life, at least will be safe. She won't lose everyone; he won't kill himself if it doesn't mean Annabeth…hopefully, of course, it won't come to that. Hopefully he will be able to get through the door and walk out onto Central Park with no problems, walk out and not look back until Annabeth is directly behind him. All that is fine…hopefully, but she can't deny how much better it feels not to have to rest on a safety net of hopefully. To know that her best friend will be…not okay…not exactly…but at least not ready to jump off Mount Olympus either...To know that no matter how this all works out, she will still at least have a best friend, not two dead ones…hopefully two very much alive ones.

_There's that hopefully again_, she is almost alive in nervous energy, fighting to keep herself from tapping her foot, settling instead for wrapping her hand somewhat restlessly against her leg. After a good long minute of that Ares seems to take notice, his hand magically finding her own; she squeezes it gratefully. His gaze is on her, she can feel it, but she is powerless to return it…her eyes are fixed on Percy. His face has turned ashen now, his mouth turned up in a slight grimace, he has released Hades' hand and is nodding grimly to whatever the god is saying. He is putting on a good show; only a well-trained Huntress would be able to see his hands shaking...only a friend would be able to see how hard he is trying to hide it. He looks back at her, once, his eyes semi-wild…well hidden but not so much so as the shaking…looks back almost as if for reassurance as he is led out of the room. She flashes a smile, but feels it slip away almost the second he has gone…feels her shoulders begin to shake.

"He's going to be okay." Ares pulls her to him, wrapping both arms around her before planting a whispered kiss on her forehead. She can barely feel it.

"I know he will be." She nods almost to herself, "Percy will be fine…it's her I'm worried about."

For that he has no answer…just tightens his arms.

His head is killing him, pulsing and throbbing so badly that he's half tempted to believe that a python has twisted its way around it. He is almost positive that Hades knows it, and equally as sure that he somehow is controlling it…trying to make him squirm. _Mission accomplished_.

His hands are shaking, not badly, but enough so that he can feel the effects of it; his mouth is turned up in a grimace and his teeth are mashed together in an attempt to keep from screaming. Hades, on the other hand, seems almost delighted.

"Right this way, Jackson." He gestures towards a forlorn crevasse seemingly at a random. "You'll go through here, beyond it is a path, it gets a bit steep, but I'm sure you'll manage." He chuckles, it is a frightening sound, "At the top of the path is a door, once you reach the door open it, you should come out in Central Park… wait for the girl to pass through, don't turn back until she has…Pretty simple." He smiles again, a knowing smile, "Also, be mindful of that headache." With that he is gone, and Percy is alone.

_Be mindful of that headache…What could Hades mean by that? _He shakes the thought off, not wanting to get ahead of himself, he takes the first step. He holds his breath, looking around him waiting for the ground to start shaking, the walls to cave in, a giant flame to engulf his body, but there is nothing; just a small, dark crevasse. He can make it to the other side in maybe three big steps, five or six little ones. He lets out his breath, nods his head, feeling a sharp jab compensate for the movement. _Right, this outta be fun. _

Another step, and the walls seem to be getting closer…when he puts his arms out they are forced to bend at the elbows to make up for the lack of space. He is sweating now, sweating bullets, but that doesn't matter, in a burst he forces himself through the narrow exit, taking another breath as he emerges on the other side.

The path is long and scaling, the walls lit with torches and the path itself being nothing but packed dirt…almost like a hiking trail. He doesn't pause, just lets out his breath and walks on; the headache seems to be growing worse with each step. Almost unconsciously he feels his pace quicken to a run, surely he can outrun this pain? Surely there is an end to it?

His breath slackens as he feels the brute force of another sharp blow, he is nearly running but the door seems to be further from him now than ever. He makes not attempts to hide his shaking hands, and does not bother feeling embarrassed when he pukes. He can hardly see, everything is getting darker, but the torches on the walls blaze just as brightly as ever…still, it's as though the world has suddenly begun to dim rapidly. He moves to a wall, puts his hand on it, continues running; he will not be both blind and lost.

It is only a matter of seconds before the next blow, this one laced it seems with a deadly acid that bursts into flames upon impact, reaches him. His hands instantly go to his head; his eyes are squeezed shut in an attempt to rally the pain...his hands leave his face covered in sweat. He can't see that, though, his sight has long-since failed him now, he can feel it running off of them though…he'd wince but he doesn't have the energy.

The wall stops suddenly, and cautiously he moves his other hand out in front of him, feeling for the door that he knows must be there. He feels rough wood and maybe ten splinters strike into his palm and searching fingers. Slowly he moves his other hand from the end of the wall, allows it to feel its way over to the door…find the already there hand and move down slightly. Something round and protruding strikes it, the knob.

He grabs for it, feeling something make its way through the pain...excitement, hope, nerves? He isn't sure, but whatever it is…it's a welcome relief from the unyielding blows. His hand closes around it, twists…sunlight warms his skin.

The blackness is fading…like when you look into the sun for too long and everything goes fuzzy before reappearing the way it was prior to the blindness. Spots of black dot his vision, and he blinks them away until he is able to see with some clarity the sights of Central Park.

He forces himself to move forward, then to stay there; completely still and unmoving…waiting for something, anything to indicate that she has made it out.

His heart is hammering, and his breathing is coming out choked, the headache may have been stifled slightly by the discovery of the door, but it is by no means gone. The spears if anything, have been sharpened…he feels himself slipping into the blackness…falling.

"Percy?" That voice…her voice…somewhere in the blackness something jumps at the sound of it, but he can't move. "Percy?" Shriller this time…and he is falling…he feels his body make impact with the hard ground as the pain increases.

"Percy!" She is beside him; pulling him onto her lap…taking his face in her hands, something inside of him awakens at that touch. The darkness fades off, slowly, but steadily…the jabs become less fierce…He blinks open his eyes…storm grey ones meet them, and suddenly her lips are against his.

The battle inside of his head stops completely with the electricity of the touch, he sits up, pulls her to him, locking her in a death grip of an embrace…feels tears running down his cheeks. Tears of joy, of relief; and, for the first time in a long time, no tears of pain…he almost laughs at the feel of it.

"You saved me." She whispers, her head nestled into his shoulder…"You really did it, Seaweed Brain." There is such wonder in her tone that he is forced to laugh again, it is somewhat a hysterical sound, but he could not be happier.

He nods, "Of course I did. I love you, Wise Girl." The words come out easily now, and he is has no idea why they were so hard before, he feels almost compelled to repeat them, but doesn't, there will be plenty of time for that in the future. For now he is content with holding her, feeling her heart beating steadily underneath his…the sound of it, it's far greater than he ever imagined.

Her arms tighten around his neck, "I love you, too, Percy."

**A/N: I'm not sure if I'm happy with this or not…please let me know what you think. Did it live up to your expectations? Would you have liked to have seen more or anything? Do you want an epilogue? Just drop a review; please…put my mind at ease. Also, quick thanks to** Lizabeth666**, **lightningkid333, **and **Athena Goddess of the Wise **for reviewing last chapter! **


	17. Epilogue

**A/N: This takes place one month after Annabeth's recovery from the Underworld.**

His lips meet hers with ease; sending sparks flying in every direction, what she is feeling is the prodigy of an eternity of practice…a well-spent eternity of practice. Not for the first time she finds herself marveling at how a person so rough can be so gentle, how his lips can fit so easily against her own. She allows herself a few moments to just appreciate the artwork of it before forcing herself to pull away, almost laughing at the look of blankness on his face.

"I've got to go see Percy." She mumbles as his arms tighten around her as if on their own accord. He leans in again, trying to plant another kiss, but this time she sees it coming in time to stop it. Not going to get sucked into that trap again. "I'm already an hour late… I've got to go." Gently she disengages herself from his arms, planting a quick kiss on his cheek she turns. "I'll see you later."

He nods, letting her get a few steps before grabbing her hand, "Really, I've got to go." She sighs, not really wanting to go any more than he wants her to. But she has to; he surprises her, however, by simply smiling. It is a beautiful smile, one that is as unexpected as Hades and Zeus having a movie night; it compels her to stay, if only for a moment, just long enough to hear what he has to say.

"I love you, Thalia." The L-word, nobody has ever used the L-word when speaking to her before, at least not when speaking about her. Something inside of her becomes alight with the word, and she can hardly help the smile that comes to her face. She feels like flying, like she's flying and the rest of the world is speeding away beneath her, without thinking she throws her arms around him.

"I love you, too." She gives him another quick kiss before pulling away, letting his hand be the last thing that she lets go of. "I do have to go, though, now."

"Hot night?" She feels her cheeks flush scarlet but quickly laughs along with her friend. Annabeth is sitting on the edge of Percy's bed, her laptop perched precariously on the edge of his nightstand, on the bed he is knocked out cold. Getting a little closer Thalia can see that there is some sort of architecture program up on the laptop. He's been asleep for a while then. Good, she doesn't have to feel so guilty about being late; she gives Annabeth a half hug before collapsing into a nearby folding chair.

"Not so much hot as eventful…" She sighs, but smiles; she can't seem to stop smiling, "How could you tell?"

Annabeth smiles knowingly, it is not an unusual look for her, but her eyes are bright, "You've got that look to you. Your eyes are all glazed; I figured you weren't high, so I went with my next best guess." They both laugh, but she shakes her head, still smiling, "No, you're my best friend, I had a pretty good guess to begin with when you were late…He's been asleep for a few hours, anyway."

Thalia nods, happy to see that color is finally starting to return to his cheeks, "I'm just glad that he's finally able to sleep. He never did on the quest, or, at least not without nightmares."

Annabeth nods, "He has them here sometimes, not often, and not so much anymore, but he has had them. They're kind of scary…" She shakes her head, "But anyway, back to you and Ares. What happened tonight?"

She smiles, biting her lip, "He told me he loved me."

"Aw, I'm so happy for you." Annabeth smiles giving her arm a squeeze, "Percy told me that a while back…after he got out of recovery." She smiles again, as though remembering a very good memory, "No, I'm happy for you."

"Yeah, I'm happy, too." She means it.

**A/N: So, I don't know about this chapter. Or, this epilogue if you prefer. I'm not sure if I like it or just the idea of it, I really only wanted to give you guys an idea of what happened to the characters after. Hopefully I did that successfully and hopefully you enjoyed it. I really hope that you will review and let me know what you thought, be it good or bad. Thanks a ton to everyone who has stuck with me through this story, and to **Athena Goddess of the Wise**, **lightningkid333**, and **Demigod536** for reviewing last chapter. **


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